California Solar Energy Resources and Incentives

This article provides a summary of websites available for gaining useful information on solar energy opportunities and incentives in the state of California. It is by no means comprehensive but will be updated as new programs and incentives arise, feel free to contact us if you would like your business or organization included or updated.

The amount of information on the Internet is overwhelming in this area, as it is on many subjects, so the intent of this article is to highlight some of the more interesting websites that we found in our searches covering solar power in California, including mostly the .org and .gov sites with businesses located at the bottom. Also at the end of the article is a list of sites you may wish to visit to continue your research. It includes the sites covered in the article itself as an index as well as ones we didn’t have space for.

General Information and Education

Go Solar California a primer on solar energy, with sections on
What Is Solar Energy? and What Are Photovoltaics? A basic Introduction
to Solar Energy. http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/solar101/what_is.html

Consumer Reports Org has up to date information on
California’s stance on greenhouse-gas emissions. Of note, a solar-roofs
program requiring publicly owned utilities to drop the costs of these
systems by implementing incentives for solar power. http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/solar_energy/

Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) a good guide to the basics of solar energy technologies. http://www.rnp.org/renewtech/tech_solar.html

Nor Cal Solar Provides up to date news on Solar installations in the Bay Area. http://www.norcalsolar.org

Wikipedia a good article on the California Solar Initiative in general. Good primer on the subject. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Solar_Initiative

Government Resources

CALSEIA goes into how a variety of laws have been enacted in California to help
prevent restrictions that may prevent the installation of solar
products in your community such as homeowners associations and other
restrictive communities. http://calseia.org/archives/12

California Solar Center covers the latest in California Solar Legislation. Good site for tracking new laws and government involvement. http://www.californiasolarcenter.org/legislation.html

US Department of Energy – Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) an overview on California Energy Acts that Include Incentives for Solar Water Heating. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/news_detail.cfm/news_id=11355

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services details how the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on has
adopted a $108 million program to deliver incentives to low-income,
single-family homeowners under the California Solar Initiative program. http://liheap.ncat.org/news/nov07/CAsolar.htm

The Vote Solar Initiative an overview and details about Governor Schwarzenegger’s signing of pro-solar bills in the year 2008. http://www.votesolar.org/state-initiatives/california.html

NPR Org From October 27, 2008, an article about Solar panels as a construction
accessory in Southern California and how there is a regulatory
roadblock. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96175833

Connecticut General Assembly information about the California (and other states) Solar Initiative, in which the the
California Public Utilities Commission has authorized $ 2.6 million for
a pilot solar water heating program, of which $ 1.5 million is for
incentives. http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0037.htm

Energy Quest information about California setting a goal to develop 3,000 Megawatts of Solar Power. http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/solar/index.html

County of San Diego provides additional sources of information on solar power. http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/greenbuildings.html

The California Energy Commission a press release from January 8, 2009 about a consumer contest to educates consumers about solar and energy efficiency. http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/2009_releases/2009-01-08_go_solar_contest.html

Go Solar California provide solar statistics on rebates before
the California Solar Initiative, the New Solar Homes Partnership, Total
Grid-Connected PVs in California and other California and National
Renewables Statistics. http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/news/statistics/index.html

Solar Incentives

Go Solar California is run by California’s Public Utilities
Commission and Energy Commission and provides information on rebates,
tax credits, and incentives for solar energy systems in California. http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/

GoSolarSF is a Solar Energy Incentive Program to encourage more
installations of solar power in San Francisco. Interesting site for the
SFO community, offering offers residents up to $6,000, and businesses
up to $10,000 to install solar power. http://www.sfwater.org/gosolarsf/

California Solar Energy Industries Association CALSEIA covers information about Solar Rebates in conjunction with CAL SEIA,
the State of California has put in place a range of financial
incentives that substantially reduce the costs of solar energy systems.
Visit this site for details about these systems. http://calseia.org/solar-rebates.html

Democratic Energy covers the solar hot water incentive program in California,
specifically, the California Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of
2007 (AB 1470), a 10-year program aimed at installing 200,000 solar
water heaters in homes and businesses using a $250 million fund. http://www.newrules.org/electricity/solarwaterca.html

Center for Sustainable Energy California under the umbrella of the California Solar Initiative (CSI), the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is providing $2.1 billion
in solar incentives over the next decade to existing residential plus
existing and new commercial, industrial and agricultural solar projects. http://energycenter.org

Northern California Solar Energy Association provides some interesting statistical information on The California Solar Initiative program. http://www.norcalsolar.org

Environment California press release from 2008-10-03 on Important Tax Incentives for Wind and Solar Energy. http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/newsroom/energy/energy-program-news/important-tax-incentives-for-wind-and-solar-energy-extended

California Solar Center examines financial incentives for Solar Energy Grants & Rebates. http://www.californiasolarcenter.org/incentives.html California Solar Center features what they call Solar Forums, which
they describe as “a great place to learn about the latest regarding the
solar industry and a great place to network with your peers.” Visit
this site for schedules for both Northern and Southern California and visit http://www.cleantechauthority.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=8 for Solar Forums and http://www.cleantechauthority.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=16 for solar Q&A.

Solar Estimate Org is a good site for information on Solar Energy Incentives, Tax Credits, and Rebates. http://www.solar-estimate.org/index.php?page=solar-incentives

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE Xplore) a paper presenting several types of solar energy incentives for industrial energy consumers. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=4047062

Solar Estimate Org an overview of Marin County, California renewable energy incentives. http://www.solar-estimate.org/?page=faq

Go Solar California information about Federal Tax Credits for solar customers and other renewable energy projects. http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/csi/tax_credit.html

Consumer Reports interesting comments about Federal tax credits for consumers on solar energy incentives. http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2008/12/energy-credits.html

The California Energy Commission examines incentives in the form of public or private subsidies such as
cash rebates on installations of renewable-energy electric generating
systems. Eligible technologies include photovoltaics (PV) and solar
thermal electricity systems. http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/csi/

Riverside Public Utilities the Non-Residential Photovoltaic (PV) System rebate program for Riverside California providing
financial incentives to business customers who purchase and install
solar energy systems. http://www.riversideca.gov/utilities/busi-solar.asp

California Public Utilities Commission discusses Performance-Based Incentives (PBI) and New Incentive Levels
where the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) calls for a
transition of the California Solar Initiative to Performance Based
Incentives that reward properly installed and maintained solar systems. http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/Solar/061228_csipbicalc.htm

Solar Companies in California

Solar Home Org provides details about Solar Panels and Solar Power Kits. http://www.solarhome.org/
Sources

Resources and Information cited in this article and others not mentioned which may be of interest to those researching Solar Energy alternatives, legislation, tax incentives and rebates in the state of California:

• http://www.californiasolarcenter.org/incentives.html
• http://www.californiasolarcenter.org/
• http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/
• http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/erprebate/index.html
• http://www.sfwater.org/gosolarsf/
• http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc/Energy/solar/
• http://www.sfgov.org/site/mainpages_index.asp?id=88198
• http://calseia.org/solar-rebates.html
• http://www.newrules.org/electricity/solarwaterca.html
• http://www.sdreo.org/ContentPage.asp?ContentID=370&SectionID=407
• http://www.norcalsolar.org/
• http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/newsroom/energy/energy-program-news/important-tax-incentives-for-wind-and-solar-energy-extended
• http://www.energy.ca.gov/sb1/index.html
• http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/news_detail.cfm/news_id=11355
• http://www.solarhome.org/
• http://www.solar-estimate.org/index.php?page=solar-incentives
• http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits
• http://www.sdreo.org/ContentPage.asp?ContentID=483&SectionID=522&SectionTarget=44
• http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/solar_energy/
• http://www.cacities.org/index.jsp?zone=wcm&previewStory=26810
• http://calseia.org/archives/12
• http://www.californiasolarcenter.org/legislation.html
• http://www.energy.ca.gov/distgen/incentives/incentives.html
• http://www.teamca.org/solar_energy.php
• http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0037.htm
• http://liheap.ncat.org/news/nov07/CAsolar.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Solar_Initiative
• http://www.riversideca.gov/utilities/busi-solar.asp
• http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=4047062
• http://www.rnp.org/renewtech/tech_solar.html
• http://www.solar-estimate.org/showfaq.php?id=220&fromsearch=1
• http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/csi/tax_credit.html
• http://www.votesolar.org/state-initiatives/california.html
• http://www.calmis.cahwnet.gov/file/occguide/SOLAR.HTM
• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96175833
• http://www.newrules.org/de/archives/000132.html
• http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/renewable.energy.annual/chap06.html
• http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2008/12/energy-credits.html
• http://www.homesolarpowersystems.org/california-solar-incentives-rebates
• http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/solar101/what_is.html
• http://www.energy.ca.gov/
• http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/10657/
• http://www.energy.ca.gov/renewables/06-NSHP-1/index.html
• http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PUBLISHED/FINAL_DECISION/75400-01.htm
• http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/Solar/061228_csipbicalc.htm
• http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/solar/index.html
• http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/greenbuildings.html
• http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/2009_releases/2009-01-08_go_solar_contest.html
• http://www.energy.ca.gov/sb1/meetings/2008-12-03_adoption/2008-12-15_notice_of_Availabilty.html
• http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/news/statistics/index.html
• http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/news/legislation.html